Salman Rushdie is an author whom I havent read any works of until now. Haroun and the Sea of Stories indeed had a very interesting plot. Just the idea of a storyteller proceeding to meet the actual characters in his stories and venture to the actual Sea, is very creative. The particular book I happened to buy was the theatrical or play form which is a type of genre that I havent read in a while. I guess I can safely say that it being in the play form didnt really affect how I perceived the story. I happen to think that it almost made it more organized being that the characters name was written out before what he or she said.
One of the things that confused me the most was the actual number of characters. Sometimes my reading comprehension is a little off, especially when life is so full of things to think about that I had a hard time remembering who was what and where they were from and so forth. I also think that Rushdie could have gone into a little more depth with some of the main characters. Maybe Im being too picky, but I think that I would have had a better understanding of who was who if this was done.
Some of the grammar in this story is different from any book I have read before. An example of this would be how Hoopoe the bird speaks. In many different parts of the story he starts his sentences with three buts; But but but this is disgraceful, Iff. The impression I got was that Rushie was trying to make him stutter a little, therefore getting stuck on the word, but. Another little thing I would have changed if I were the author is the actual names of the different towns, and lands. Names such as the Land of Chup and Gup City just rhyme too much for my liking. Other names such as the P2C2E House, and the Valley of K just didnt spark any emotion in me what so ever. I guess I am more primitive when it comes to names. I enjoy the medieval and King Arthur types of names. If I were to rename the Valley of K, it would be something like the Valley of Kroshdon, Kilton, or Keenendale or something. Now Im just being silly.
One of my favorite descriptions in this story is when they arrive in The Ocean of the Stream of Story. Details like, a sparkling expanse of water, Haroun could see steam rising off it that glowed in the sunlight, are appealing to me. I think details like these can almost make or break a story, whether it is fiction or nonfiction. Of course this is just my opinion, but I am a very visual person and when I read, I like to create many different pictures in my mind of what I am reading. If the story lacks visual content, I can easily be distracted or disinterested. Overall, this isnt the greatest book I have ever read but it is not the worst either. I just would have done it a little differently.
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